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Inventing the airplane is a complicated and fascinating story with more than one person playing a role. Orville and Wilbur Wright are often credited with being the inventors of the airplane, but they were not the only ones working on this problem at the time. Other contenders for the title of airplane inventor include: George Cayley: Cayley is considered by many to be the true father of aviation. He was the first to identify the four forces that act on an airplane: lift, drag, thrust, and weight. He also built and flew the first glider that could carry a human. Otto Lilienthal: Lilienthal was a German engineer who was inspired by Cayley's work. He made significant improvements to glider design and was the first person to successfully fly a glider for extended periods of time. Lilienthal's work paved the way for the Wright brothers. Sir Hiram Maxim: Maxim was an American inventor who created the first powered airplane. His design was not very successful, but it did prove that po...

The modern match is a small, thin piece of wood or cardboard with a chemically treated head. The head is struck on a rough surface to ignite the chemicals and start a fire. The first matches were made in China about 2,000 years ago. The Chinese discovered that a mixture of sulfur and realgar (an arsenic sulfide) would ignite when it was struck against a hard, rough surface. This mixture was known as "flying fire." The Chinese used this "flying fire" to start fires for cooking and heating. The first European matches were made in the early 1800s. The head of the match was dipped in a solution of potassium chlorate and antimony sulfide. When the head of the match was struck, the chemicals reacted and produced a small flame. The modern match was invented by Englishman John Walker in 1826. Walker was a chemist who was looking for a way to make a steady flame that could be used to light a pipe. He found that a mixture of antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, and gum arabi...